Friday, March 9, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.
Being that we're so fond of replication around here, it makes perfect sense that Las Vegas would duplicate its most famous sign not once, but twice. The third Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was plugged in and turned on at dusk Tuesday. The new sign peers over the Boulder Strip, just south of the stoic Sam's Town and Nevada Palace casinos and north of Tropicana Avenue.
The Boulder Highway sign follows the Betty Willis-designed original, which since 1959 has stood on the south end of the Strip, and the newer Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas sign on Las Vegas Boulevard, a few cartwheels north of the Stratosphere. The latest incarnation of the diamond-shaped sign is a good bit larger and several feet taller than the original, and is best viewed while driving. Its spot on the rocky median, in the middle of a road filled with roaring vehicles, is even less safe for would-be photographers than the original location.
The concept for the new sign, which cost the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority $88,500 to build and install, was advanced five years ago by the now-defunct Boulder Strip Association. Sam's Town Sales Manager Beverly Prather was the association's president at the time and worked with the LVCVA on the proposal.
The site of the new sign seems arbitrary, as that particular point on Boulder Highway sits in unincorporated Clark County and is not a border for Las Vegas or Henderson. But as an LVCVA spokeswoman said Thursday, that locale was chosen because it represents the understood gateway from the Boulder Highway to Las Vegas. At least, it's the understood gateway now that the "Welcome" sign stands there.
Willis, now age 83, said she had just heard Thursday that a new sign had been installed. But she has always said she supports any design playing off her original work, which she performed for Western Sign Co. "I never trademarked it and this is why. It helps the city," she said during a phone conversation Thursday afternoon. "I'm in favor of it. I'm having my daughter take me out to see it as soon as I can."
NoteMart
Win a bar bet (unless you are betting me) by knowing that Sheldon Adelson is our city's wealthiest man, worth $26.5 billion, and the sixth-wealthiest person in the world. This, according to the latest Forbes list of the world's richest people. The magazine released its annual list of billionaires Thursday, with Bill Gates sitting at No. 1 (for the 13th straight year) with an estimated worth of $56 billion, followed by Warren Buffett ($52 billion), communications magnate Carlos Slim Helu ($49 billion), IKEA's Ingvar Kamprad ($33 billion), steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal ($32 billion) and our man Sheldon. Other Vegas-centric billionaires listed were Kirk Kerkorian (No. 31, $15 billion), Steve Wynn (No. 264, $3.4 billion), Donald Trump (No. 314, $2.9 billion), Bill Boyd (No. 664, $1.5 billion) and Phil Ruffin (No. 717, $1.4 billion). Also listed was eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (No. 76, $8.8 billion), who is based in Henderson ...
The United Jewish Community/Jewish Federation of Las Vegas "Champions of Freedom" dinner is set for Saturday night at the Bellagio. State Supreme Court Justice Michael Cherry will be presented with the prestigious David L. Simon Bridge Builder for Peace Award, which the organization gives in honor of Simon's "steadfast commitment to promoting peace and understanding among people and nations," according to a United Jewish Community press release. Hosting will be Henry Winkler, and the cast of "Forbidden Broadway" is the featured entertainment, which reminds that the production's now-terminated Vegas offshoot, "Forbidden Vegas," at the Westin Casaurina, was one of the great shows nobody saw ...
Saks Fifth Avenue and the Nevada Cancer Institute have announced this year's Vegas Dozen, the city's top male movers and shakers. This year's group, the fourth to be honored, is decidedly diverse. This year's honorees are Gary Ackerman of Gaudin Automotive Group, cardiologist Dr. Keith Boman, film legend Tony Curtis, Friedmutter Group founder Brad Friedmutter, First American Title Co. Public Relations Director Richard Lee, Marshall-Rousso co-founder and Band of Nevada Chairman of the Board Art Marshall, Nine Group owner Michael Morton, Focus Property Group Chief Executive John Ritter, corporate head and uber-Chef Wolfgang Puck, Luxor President Felix Rappaport, Cox Communications executive Steve Schorr and Towbin Automotive Enterprises Chairman Dan Towbin. Phyllis McGuire hosts the event honoring the Vegas Dozen, set for March 28 at the Saks store at the Fashion Show mall ...
The retirement of a pantry worker might not seem particularly newsworthy, except that in this case the pantry worker is Joyce Ricks, who punched out for the last time on Tuesday after spending 38 years at the Las Vegas Hilton. Ricks was with the hotel, then known as the International, when it opened on July 2, 1969 ...
The nightclub Brass atop Hennessey's Tavern in downtown Las Vegas will hold its grand opening party on March 30. Amid scant (scant! I tell you) fanfare, the club across from Neonopolis and overlooking Fremont Street opened to the public about a month ago ...
Where Elvis meets Eugene: On Thursday, Allegiant Air of Las Vegas announced new nonstop service from Las Vegas to Eugene, Ore. The flights begin May 10 and will operate on Thursdays and Sundays ...
In reel time: Fisherpeople find it odd that, here in the desert, Bass Pro Shops at the Silverton sells more Tracker boats than does any other Bass Pro store in the country. Tracker is the most popular brand of fishing boats in the world. ...
No organ grinder, but ... : A plate sent a while back from a devotee in San Diego, MNKEBUT, on a silver Scion.
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